The microclimatic parameters (Ta, RH, E, and CO₂) reflect the indoor quality of the environment. Their relationship, connected with the design of the building, can facilitate the growth of photo/heterotrophic organisms and therefore facilitate the increase of the relative CO₂ production. Taking this into account, the impact of biological proliferation in a historical building is discussed for the Mithraeum of “Casa di Diana” in the archaeological site of Ostia Antica, which is subjected to guided tours. In this work, for the first time, we propose a study on biological monitoring to evaluate the contribution of bioactivity to air quality, with the objective to increase the comfort of visitors and to open the site for more than one day per week, suggesting possible tools providing a good compromise between building conservation and human comfort. In the sense, it has been possible to distinguish the contribution of the plants from the one deriving from humans: high values of carbon dioxide have been recorded during the night and its scarce removal during the day (air flow). The window present is not sufficient to eliminate the CO₂, involving concentrations of CO₂ relatively high in comparison to the proposed limits and guidelines defined by law. The obtained results strongly encouraged the elimination of flora in order to increase the comfort of visitors and to open the house for more than one day per week. Although, this process involves an important economic effort, the present study allows making an objective decision which has an important value in a cultural heritage management. Graphical Abstract CO₂ contribute by bioactivity as damage to human health

High nickel (Ni) levels exert toxic effects on plant growth and plant water content, thus affecting photosynthesis. In a pot experiment, we investigated the effect of the Ni concentration on the physiological characteristics of the Ni hyperaccumulator Alyssoides utriculata when grown on a vermiculite substrate in the presence of different external Ni concentrations (0–500 mg Ni L⁻¹). The results showed that the Ni concentration was higher in leaves than in roots, as evidenced by a translocation factor = 3 and a bioconcentration factor = 10. At the highest concentration tested (500 mg Ni L⁻¹), A. utriculata accumulated 1100 mg Ni per kilogram in its leaves, without an effects on its biomass. Plant water content increased significantly with Ni accumulation. Ni treatment did not, or only slightly, affected chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. The photosynthetic efficiency (FV/FM) of A. utriculata was stable between Ni treatments (always ≥ 0.8) and the photosynthetic performance of the plant under Ni stress remained high (performance index = 1.5). These findings support that A. utriculata has several mechanisms to avoid severe damage to its photosynthetic apparatus, confirming the tolerance of this species to Ni under hyperaccumulation.

Diazinon (DZ) (O,O-diethyl-O-[2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl]phosphorothioate) is an organophosphate pesticide which is extensively used to control household insects and fruit and vegetable crops. The exposure to this pesticide has been linked to the development of the serious problem in several experimental animals. The contamination of food by DZ may increase its danger to humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the toxic effect of DZ on intestine using an in vitro model (HCT116). Therefore, we evaluated the cell viability, elucidated the generation of free radicals, measured the mitochondrial membrane potential, and valued DNA fragmentation. Our results showed that DZ is cytotoxic to HCT116. It causes oxidative damage through the generation of free radicals and induces lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation. We also demonstrated that such effects can be responsible for DZ-induced apoptosis.

Cypermethrin is one of the most widely used pesticides due to its low mammalian and bird toxicity, but it is extremely toxic to aquatic organisms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the toxicity of a commercial formulation of cypermethrin on the embryo–larval development of Rhinella arenarum. An ecological risk assessment based on the hazard quotient (HQ) approach was performed. The results showed that cypermethrin toxicity was stage-dependent and dramatically increased during the larval period. Thus, larvae were more sensitive than embryos, obtaining at the end of the experiment a 336-h median lethal concentration (LC50) of 0.65 μg cypermethrin/L. Cypermethrin exposure caused morphological abnormalities such as general underdevelopment, edema, gill malformations, and behavioral alterations as hyperkinesia and spasmodic contractions. The 168-h teratogenic index was 5, implying a high risk for embryos to be malformed in the absence of significant embryonic lethality. Based on the results of the toxicity effects and the ecological risk assessed (HQ for chronic exposure > level of concern), this pesticide should be considered as a direct (effects on survival) or indirect (severe sublethal effects) risk for conservation purposes of this amphibian in agroecosystems.

Taiwan has a large number of poorly managed contaminated sites in need of remediation. This study proposes a framework, a set of standards, and a spreadsheet-based evaluation tool for implementing green and sustainable principles into remediation projects and evaluating the projects from this perspective. We performed a case study to understand how the framework would be applied. For the case study, we used a spreadsheet-based evaluation tool (SEFA) and performed field scale cultivation tests on a site contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs). The site was divided into two lots: one treated by chemical oxidation and the other by bioremediation. We evaluated five core elements of green and sustainable remediation (GSR): energy, air, water resources, materials and wastes, and land and ecosystem. The proposed evaluation tool and field scale cultivation test were found to efficiently assess the effectiveness of the two remediation alternatives. The framework and related tools proposed herein can potentially be used to support decisions about the remediation of contaminated sites taking into account engineering management, cost effectiveness, and social reconciliation.

Organophosphorus chemicals are highly toxic molecules mainly used as pesticides. Some of them are banned warfare nerve agents. These compounds are covalent inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase, a key enzyme in central and peripheral nervous systems. Numerous approaches, including chemical, physical, and biological decontamination, have been considered for developing decontamination methods against organophosphates (OPs). This work is an overview of both validated and emerging strategies for the protection against OP pollution with special attention to the use of decontaminating enzymes. Considerable efforts have been dedicated during the past decades to the development of efficient OP degrading biocatalysts. Among these, the promising biocatalyst SsoPox isolated from the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus is emphasized in the light of recently published results. This hyperthermostable enzyme appears to be particularly attractive for external decontamination purposes with regard to both its catalytic and stability properties.

This work investigates the influence of a high-magnitude flood event on heavy elements (HEs) pollution and mobility in the agricultural soils along Ibar River in Southern Serbia and Northern Kosovo. The study area was one of the most important Pb/Zn industrial regions in Europe. Soil samples (n = 50) collected before and after the floods in May 2014 were subjected to the sequential extraction procedure proposed by the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR). The results indicated that the floods significantly increased not only the pseudo total concentrations of HEs in the soil but also their mobile and potentially bioavailable amounts. Moreover, higher concentrations (both pseudo total and potentially bioavailable) were found in the agricultural soils closer to the industrial hotspots. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis successfully grouped the analyzed elements according to their anthropogenic or natural origin. The floods significantly increased the potential ecological risk of HEs associated with Pb/Zn industrial activities in the study area. The potential ecological risk of Cd after the floods was highest and should be of special concern.

Microcosm horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands (HSSFCWs) were used to examine the impacts of vegetation on nitrogen dynamics treating different influent COD/N ratios (1:1, 4:1, and 8:1). An increase in the COD/N ratio led to increased reductions in NO₃ and total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) in planted and unplanted wetlands, but diminished removal of NH₄. The HSSFCW planted with Canna indica L. exhibited a significant reduction in NH₄ compared to the unplanted system, particularly in the active root zone where NH₄ removal performance increased by up to 26 % at the COD/N ratio of 8:1. There was no significant difference in NO₃ removal between the planted and unplanted wetlands. TIN removal efficiency in the planted wetland increased with COD/N ratios, which was likely influenced by plant uptake. NH₄ reductions were greater in planted wetland at the 20- and 40-cm depths while NO₃ reductions were uniformly greater with depth in all cases, but no statistical difference was impacted by depth on TIN removal. These findings show that planting a HSSFCW can provide some benefit in reducing nitrogen loads in effluents, but only when a sufficient carbon source is present.

Experimental findings of sonophotocatalytic process were used in degradation of hydroquinone to assess kinetic modeling and determine the effect of various active radical species. First, the effects of three photocatalytic, sonocatalytic, and sonophotocatalytic processes were studied for hydroquinone removal to determine kinetic constants and calculate the activation energy of reactions, and then the selected process was evaluated to determine active radical species. The reactor was composed of two parts, one included ultrasonic probe (sonocatalytic part) with powers 22, 80, and 176 W and the second part was the location of UV lamp (photocatalytic part) with tubular flow and power 15 W. After three systems were examined and the efficient system was selected, the role of different active species such as hydroxyl radical (OH·), superoxide radical (O₂ ·⁻), hole (h⁺), electrons (e ⁻), and single oxygen molecule (¹O₂) and contribution of each of them were determined in hydroquinone degradation. According to tests, the results of this study showed that sonophotocatalytic integrated method as selected system among three systems studied followed the first-order equation for hydroquinone degradation and active hydroxyl species with 45 % and electron and hole with 15 and 10 %, respectively, had the highest and lowest contributions to conversion of hydroquinone. The findings showed that dissolved oxygen increases the capability of active radical formation so that 28.2 % of hydroquinone removal was increased under aeration compared to without aeration. Also, removal efficiency decreased 62 % with N₂ injection due to the withdrawal of oxygen from the sample. By adding 25 Mm of sodium azide (NaN₃) to stock solution, 46.5 % reduction was developed because single oxygen (¹O₂) played the role of an active species. The advantages of integrated sonocatalytic and photocatalytic method are the generation of active radical species with more variety and ultimately the formation of higher amounts of powerful hydroxyl radical that increases degradation rates of refractory compounds and low-risk internal and final products. It has an appropriate performance in the degradation of refractory compounds by optimizing effective operational factors.

Caves in Mizoram, Northeast India, are potential hotspot diversity regions due to the historical significance of the formation of the Indo-Burman plateau and also because of their unexplored and unknown diversity. High-throughput paired end Illumina sequencing of the V4 region of 16S rRNA was performed to study the bacterial community of three caves situated in Champhai district of Mizoram, Northeast India. A total of 10,643 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (based on 97 % cutoff) comprising of 21 major and 21 candidate phyla with a sequencing depth of 1,140,013 were found in this study. The overall taxonomic profile obtained by the RDP classifier and Greengenes OTU database revealed high diversity within the bacterial communities. Communities were dominated by Planctomycetes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes, while members of Archaea were less varied and mostly comprising of Eukaryoarchea. Analysis revealed that Farpuk (CFP) cave sediment has low microbial diversity and is mainly dominated by Actinobacteria (80 % reads), whereas different bacterial communities were found in the caves of Murapuk (CMP) and Lamsialpuk (CLP). Analysis also revealed that a major portion of the identified OTUs was classified under rare biosphere. Importantly, all these caves recorded a high number of unclassified OTUs, which might represent new species. Further analysis with whole genome sequencing is needed to validate the unknown species as well as to determine their functional role.